The present invention relates to optical scanning systems and optical displaying apparatus comprising the optical scanning system. The optical scanning system is also applicable to other applications such as optical recording/reproducing apparatus and optical computers.
Various types of optical scanning devices such as mechanically mirror-movable type scanners and electro-optic or acousto-optic deflecting type scanners have been developed hitherto with a view to scanning an object with a light beam or an electromagnetic radiation beam in optical indication fields, for example. There is a problem which arises with the conventional mechanically mirror-movable type optical scanner, however, in that mechanical troubles easily occur because of provision of mechanically mirror-moving mechanism for beam reflection in different directions and the optical system inevitably becomes complicated. Further, an important problem in the conventional electro-optic deflecting type scanner relates to the fact that the deflecting angular range is relatively small so as to make it difficult to widely scan an object with an electromagnetic radiation beam.